Philippines leader calls for constitutional convention to scrap US-style government

[JURIST] Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo [official website] said Thursday that she would call a national convention in 2006 to change the constitution and form of government of the Philippines [Wikipedia profile] from an American-style system with a president and bicameral legislature to a federal, parliamentary system. Arroyo says the new system would be more effective in enacting reforms. Economists say the current government isn't a good fit for a market-based system and gives the judiciary too much authority to put obstacles in the way of executive initiatives. The country's constitution was last changed in 1987. The Philippines was ceded to the United States by Spain in 1899 after the Spanish-American War; it became independent in 1946. AFP has more.

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